Annie, a Skilled Fabric Machinist, Is Looking for Another Job, Outside of the Clothing Business
Rosa sews clothing for a living. She works for Manila Fabrics, 6 days a week, but during busy periods it can be 7 days. / Dewhirst Fabrics in Cheshire closed in 2000. The factory had made jackets, skirts and trousers for Marks and Spencer
Annie lives in Cheshire, UK. She is married with two children and she is unemployed. / Rosa is forced to work overtime when asked, sometimes until 2am in the morning. If she refused, she would be sacked on the spot.
Rosa earns £4 for a 12-hour day and she finds it difficult to live on her earnings. / Rosa would have to work for over 100 hours to earn enough to buy one of garments she is sewing for people living in the UK.
The factory where Annie used to work belonged to Dewhirst Fabrics, a UK clothing manufacturer / Rosa’s company provides a room for her to sleep in, but she has to share it with five others
Rosa now lives in Manila, the capital of the Philippines / Before it closed, 90% of Dewhirst Fabric’s business had been for Marks and Spencer
Rosa's home village is 310 miles from Manila, where there are no jobs. / Rosa is 16, and she left her village home 5 months ago. She now works in a factory with 500 other machinists
M & S needs to keep its prices lower, so more of its clothes are now made in factories in less developed countries like the Philippines. / Marks and Spencers profits were steadily dropping for years and their shareholders were getting annoyed.
In 1990 75% of the clothes sold in M & S were made in Britain. Now it is only 30% and still falling. / Rosa was excited about working for Manila Fabrics at first, as they promised she would earn enough to send money home
Some of Marks and Spencer clothes are now cheaper, sales are increasing and the company is starting to show a rise in profits. / To survive, Dewhirst Fabrics has now moved its own production overseas to countries where costs are cheaper.
